Why are Manchester United fans not holding the Glazer family to account?

The timeline of most Manchester United fans is often filled with supporters venting their frustration at Louis van Gaal.

Every post from United’s official Twitter account is met with hundreds of responses, some more aggressive than others, calling for the Dutchman to be sacked.

It’s safe to say whoever is tweeting on behalf of United doesn’t have the authority to make decisions on Van Gaal’s future, yet that doesn’t stop the outpouring of anger on social media.

While it is fairly obvious that Van Gaal has failed to fulfil expectations this season, and that the players on the pitch aren’t performing in the way they should, it’s incredible how easily the Glazers have found it to get away with it.

Manchester United are the third most valuable football team in the world behind Real Madrid and Barcelona, according to Forbes, worth £2.1 billion. Last week, United revealed figures which shows they are likely to become the first British club to earn £500 million.

It’s fairly remarkable that, after finishing fourth last season, more wasn’t done by the Glazer family to ensure they climbed up the table.

When you look at United’s rivals, Manchester City, they had a net spend of over £100 million after finishing second last season, eager to replace Chelsea as champions. In contrast, United had a reported net spend of less than £30million.

Also, when United should be looking to improve on last season’s finish of fourth, they have decreased their wage bill by £13 million per year.

Robin van Persie was one of the top earners at the club and was the top scorer in the league two seasons before he was sold to Fenerbahce. When he left, no striker was brought in his less place, let alone a world class one.

In the two years since another top earner, Rio Ferdinand, left the club, not a single central defender has been bought, let alone a world class one.

In the eight years since Sheikh Mansour has bought City, he has invested over £1billion in to the club. In contrast, in the 11 years since the Glazers have owned United, they have taken over £1 billion out of the club.

The manager and the players aren’t doing well enough, but the real villains here are the Glazers, yet next to nothing is said about their leadership in comparison to how much stick Van Gaal gets.

The last time the fans were protesting against their owners, en masse, every week, was six years ago, when the green and gold scarves were donned by thousands of supporters.

That season, United finished second in the Premier League by one point, 10 points clear of third placed Arsenal, reached the Champions League quarter-finals, and won the League Cup.

Yet now United are set to miss out on Champions League football for the second time in three years, it is the manager not the owners who is on the receiving end of their wrath. The Glazers are laughing all the way to the bank.